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Its name is both an acronym and a slang term for the foam padding used in off-roading.
NERF
This cartoon character "let down" her iconic, towering hairdo to promote Dove Styling haircare products in a 2000s ad campaign.
Marge Simpson
“You can be anything”
Barbie
This toy changed its design to match the real life model, leading to injuries due to exposing young users to extreme heat.
Easy-Bake Oven
This wildly popular doll led to parents fighting each other in stores during the 1983 Christmas shopping season.
Cabbage Patch Kids
Originally known as "Vertical Checkers", this game also had a competitive scene, with professional tournaments held around the world to showcase the skills of top players.
Connect Four
This mobile app attributes its success to Facebook requests, where a user is asked to either give or to send extra lives to their Facebook Friends.
Candy Crush
"Gotta Catch 'Em All"
Pokemon
Looking to highlight contemporary issues, this toy brand came out with a "homeless doll" in 2009.
American Girl Doll
Known as the first virtual pet, this product was Christmas Toy of the Year in 1997.
Tamagotchi
This children’s arts and crafts product was originally created to clean wallpaper, and started being marketed as a toy in the 1950s.
Play-Doh
To get small retailers to stock the product, this plush toy was introduced at the 1993 Toy Fair in NYC.
Beanie Babies
"A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing!"
Slinky
Although the game was marketed mostly to kids, the promotional material for its 1966 launch were cartoon adults wearing fancy clothes entirely impractical for playing the game.
Twister
Named to honor a different decade, this ground-breaking console had the first controller to ever feature an analog stick.
Nintendo 64
Rejected by both Milton Bradley and Park Bothers, this board game sold 1.2 million copies in 1963 alone.
Mouse Trap
More than 40 years after its invention, the likeness of this toy has been used in ads across brands, including Honda, Bose, PlayStation, McDonalds, and Nivea Cosmetics.
Rubik's Cube
“Friendship is Magic”
My Little Pony
This children's doll that capitalized on the unboxing craze, was called to be removed from shelves in 2020 because the doll could reveal provocative outfits when dipped into cold water.
LOL Surprise!
These super simple devices that were hooked around your ankle with a weight strung from it were meant to be an easy recreational toy for kids in the 2000s to play with.
Skip-It
Manufactured by Hasbro in 1952, this children's toy was the first to be advertised on television, upending the advertising industry and the economics of the toy industry.
Mr Potato Head
Inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, this toy sold 10 million units in the 1960s alone, thanks to TV and Print ads.
Etch A Sketch
“Challenge Accepted”
Hot Wheels
Discontinued in 2022 due to portraying negative social stereotyping, this toy's commercials showcased the child as the "style savior".
Fail Fix Dolls
Released for the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the Martin Luther figure from this 1970s brand sold out in three days in 2017.
Playmobil